


Shadow of a Light

by Illusn



Category: Original Work, Pokemon
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-08 07:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15238140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illusn/pseuds/Illusn
Summary: A literary adaptation of the ongoing comic'Shadow of a Light'.In a world inhabited by Pokémon, in a country cut off from the rest of the world, where the people are victim to the king's selfishness, they begin to conspire...If you like my work, please consider supporting me onPatreon.





	1. Chapter 1

Hwano, a tall mammalian creature known as a typhlosion, wearing crimson robes and a snow white cape that draped over his sloping shoulders, leaned forward in his chair and began to enunciate his words carefully, with a regal manner. "The way I see it, it's the best option." He turned his sloping face, with a snout, much like that of a honey badger, but longer, to face a plump frog-like creature, seated across from him at the mahogany table, his blood red eyes piercing into the light green amphibian. "What do you think Tei?"

Tei jumped, his short legs with three webbed toes each dangling from his velvet cushioned chair and his spiral patterned belly wobbled slightly with the motion. "Well..." he began, fidgeting slightly with his hands interlocking, the blue spiral that protruded from his head bobbing slightly as his large cocoa eyes bulged from his round face. "It might endanger the citizens, and they might blame you..." He flinched and quickly finished his reply: "But it's your decision."

Tei was not one to stand up to the king, who could quite easily turn and kill Tei from his throne-like seat at the opposite side of the table. The main reason why he was Hwano's adviser was not because of his qualifications, but rather his status as a Politoed, a rare creature, a form that was usually accompanied by wealth, and was one of the few species allowed to command much power in the royal abode.

Hwano pushed his chair backwards and pulled himself to his feet, gripping the back of his hardwood throne. "Go ahead with it," he commanded, looking away from his adviser and turning his attention to a pair of gigantic, heavy doors. The navy blue fur that coated his back and long pointed ear shimmered in the golden light that poured from ornamental windows around the hall, as though coated in diamond dust; the beige fur across his face glowed with divine light, accentuating his aged features. He marched towards the doors, with light but firm steps, passing a painting of their God, known most commonly as the 'Great One', or, as many historical texts refer to them, Arceus, with an ornate golden frame with delicate grooves engraved around the corners. The deity stood triumphantly, pointing at something outside the frame with one of its hoofed feet with a sliver of gold, like liquid sunlight adorning the tip, a ring of gold, like the sliver on its hoof, circled its abdomen, emerald crystals embedded in the rings, glinting in the glow. The backlit deity's blindingly white fur covered most of its body, aside from its grey striped underside, and metallic face. Its eyes consisted of green rings around ruby circles, and exuded power. A flowing mane of white and grey drifted from its head like a wisp of smoke, ending in a soft point.

Hwano gave the grand doors a tug on their bronze handles, pushing the musty air around them as they swivelled ajar. A shrew-like creature with blue and beige fur, like Hwano's, sat patiently as the doors opened, looking up to his father, his eyes filled with love and joy, an air of innocence surrounded him. His back sparked with gentle flames as his father approached him, gently wrapping his soft paws around the infant's chest and lifting him into the air. The flames on the child's back calmed and extinguished as he was held in Hwano's comforting grip. Hwano looked at his son and his eyes softened from their usual terrifying glare to a soft, warm, loving gaze.

The pair embraced in a gentle hug, with Hwano cradling his infant, who began to close his dark red eyes and relax against his father's arm. Hwano inspected the huge painting that covered the wall of the corridor with a sad familiarity. A slender typhlosion wearing a lavish purple dress and a simple, but gorgeous crown sat upright in a gently curving throne, her hands resting, linked softly by her palms and fingers, on her lap. Her long, thin ears pointed upwards with artistic elegance, and her resting eyes were closed on her calm face. She seemed at peace with the world, yet knowledgeable at the same time. Hwano's heart ached as he stared at her perfect features.

"She wouldn't like what you're doing now, Hwano," said Tei, watching Hwano with a mix of pity and respect. He regretted those words the instant they came out of his mouth, as Hwano's features morphed into a look of mournful rage. 

"That doesn't matter! She isn't here anymore!" shrieked Hwano, flames erupting from the base of his neck like a mane, startling his child. His cold eyes brimmed with tears and the flames died down as soon as they started. "Just do it," he spoke with a voice full of pain.

Tei raised his hands in fear, and stepped away from the monarch. "Yes, of course, sorry," he stuttered, and left the king alone with the infant in his arms settling down again, on the verge of sleep.

● ● ●

In the town of Wonmul, a zoroark lay limply on his hard bed, atop his thin duvet and rough pillow. He stared at the ceiling, his fox-like face, covered in fine but plentiful short grey fur, pointed vertically, as he silently debated with himself. A shabby faded orange scarf was wrapped around his shoulders, which had fluffy black fur surrounding them that then continued backwards in a V shape to the sides of his neck. His head lay on his long red hair, that pushed out in black spikes every so often from the loose red cluster. The hair spread out across his pillow, until a blue bead that brought it all together with a fluffy teardrop shape poking out of the end. The hair became black in a zigzagging line across it as it neared the bead, and then red again as it moved away from the blue orb.

He had an internal debate, conversations that would remain silent, and with good reason. '"All hail the King", ha! Why should I worship a king who doesn't care for his people?'

Thoughts pounded in his head, bouncing off the sides, as he gazed into space, his eyes unfocused. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, scrunching his eyes closed as he became stuck in the internal conflict. 'People are starving out there, they need help.'

He plunged his face into his hands, covering his eyes, claws lightly digging into his scalp. 'But I can barely afford to care for myself.'

His face contorted into misery and pain at the thought of not being able to help. Slight marks began to form on his skin from the pressure of his claws as he tensed his hands, hidden by his forest of fur.

His raging thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion, the boom shaking the very foundations of his house. His eyes shot open, darting around, and widened dramatically.

Cracks were erupting across the walls and floor, spreading dangerously through the box-like structure. The inhabitant thrust himself across the room, leaping from his bed, forcing it into the wall as he pushed off. He reached the door just as the soft wood table with multiple drawers, that was lined up with the wall, shifted, two of the four legs dropping into the crumbling abyss below. A small lamp and hard bound book were thrown down, joining the rubble in the chasm , smashing against the rocks, shattering the bulb into fragments.

He yanked the door open, straining the hinges with the sudden force, a sonic boom shocking outwards. Stepping out into the dusty road, adrenaline rocketing through his veins, he took in the destruction around him, tears brimming up in his eyes, making them glitter like crystals, frozen with shock.

The road was in pieces, split by jagged slices through the concrete. Some of the cracks were now gaping crevasses, stretching up to about a metre in width. The houses that lined the streets fell victim to the rampaging fissures, crumbling, crashing, collapsing. The simple houses sagged sadly, shutters dangling or dropped from the walls they belonged to, roofs caved in as the walls they had relied on abandoned them. 

"Help!" the cry pierced through the zoroark's shock like a knife.

A rounded face of a sylveon sadly, yet hopefully, looked to the zoroark, her large, pink, fluffy ears poking up against the rubble of the house behind her head. A ribbon-like appendage wrapped around the back of her head and lay on one of her ears, while the others lay limply on the rocks, failing to support her body weight on their own. Held in her arms, a small eevee snuggled up to her. The eevee had short, milk chocolate fur on most of her body, which resembled that of a small dog, with the ears of a rabbit. The mane of cream fur around the eevee's neck was ruffled every time her body shook with sobs, nestled in her mother's arms. They were stuck in the doorway of a wrecked house. The door hung by one of its hinges, bent and cracked. The ground beneath the house was roughly sliced, leaving the walls to collapse as they had been shaken by the violent crack that had torn through the once safe structure. The rubble from the walls and roof had caved in, large chunks of rock and tile pushing against the sylveon.

The zoroark sprinted to the sylveon and eevee, ending with a slight skid on his knees right in front of the rubble. He raised his hands slightly, trying to hide his quick, panicked breaths. "Are you okay?" he said. In hindsight it was a stupid question, how could someone be 'okay' after being hit by a cascade of rocks?

The sylveon looked up to him with soft pink eyes, as the eevee backed up slightly from the stranger, round, deep brown eyes filled with worry. The sylveon took a deep breath and began to speak, pausing often to shakily breathe: "I was trying to escape...but...a rock, part of the rubble, it fell..." She broke eye contact with the zoroark, tightly closing her eyes, a pearly tear trickling down her face. "I can't move." The eevee buried her face into her mother's chest, delicate tears welling up in her eyes. 

It was then that the zoroark noticed a puddle of crimson spreading out across the rose fur on the back of the sylveon's neck, coming from under a particularly vicious looking fragment of rubble embedded slightly in her skin. He lowered his hands defeatedly, she didn't have long left, there was no way he could get her help quickly enough to save her life.

The sylveon opened her eyes, refusing to look directly at the zoroark or her child. "What's your name?"

He continued to look right at her, just avoiding eye contact, and replied simply: "Yeong." His voice was slightly hoarse from the strain of trying to keep his emotions from bubbling to the surface. 

The sylveon gave him a soft smile. "That's a nice name."

Her eyes hardened with determination as she continued to speak: "Yeong, please, take care of Lilac..." She took in a painful gulp of air. "Keep her safe, please."

The dam broke, tears gently dripped from Yeong's eyes. His voice cracked and shook. "But, how do you know that you can trust me?"

The sylveon looked him dead in the eyes. "Because you care about others," she said. 

Yeong wordlessly leaned over and carefully lifted Lilac from her mother's embrace, pulling her into his own, holding her gently against his chest. 

The sylveon looked up with her glassy eyes to the pair, her vision unfocused. "Thank you," she said, forcing what little air from her lungs as she could to say the words. "Take care."

Yeong gave a sombre nod as tears spilled down his pointed face, pulling Lilac into a hug of sadness as he turned to leave with the rest of the refugees. He didn't think he's be able to speak in that moment, emotions cascading through his being. 

Lilac's mother laid her head down on the remains of her house. She watched Yeong and Lilac trudge into the sunset lit streets with glazed over eyes one last time. Her breathing was laboured, and she just hoped that whatever the future held, her daughter was safe. She thought that she would have been more desperate to do something, anything, but a part of her was at peace, relaxed.

Yeong looked back, seeing Lilac's mother slumped over, still and lifeless, he pulled Lilac in closer to his chest. His breathing became ragged for a minute before he managed to even it out as not to alarm Lilac.

The silence was deafening to Yeong as he took heavy steps towards the edge of the town, passing cracked and wrecked homes, abandoned by their inhabitants. He wasn't sure whether the sylveon's smile was genuine, or if she had forced it to hide her sadness and fear, and it ate away at him everytime he glanced at Lilac. Could he have reduced the suffering of the mother and child? 

His thoughts were interrupted by a small quivering voice. "Why isn't Mummy coming too?" 

He scrunched his eyelids together to prevent the waterfall of tears that threatened to break through. Salty tears gathered in his eyes, and he tried to blink it away to no avail. Yeong chose to remain silent. A child's innocence should be preserved, as much as possible; even if she hated him for it, he couldn't bring himself to voice what happened. It was an open wound, one that hurt more the more he thought about it.

They left the town, the muffled sound of footsteps all around, as they walked down the same path from the town as the other inhabitants escaping with what they could. 

A pangoro led her infant pancham, linking her strong, worn hand gently with the delicate paw of the small panda, her jaw clamped around the bamboo spring in her mouth. A steenee walked alone, light steps causing her petals to lift in the air slightly, a small pouch slung over her shoulder with what little she could recover from her belongings, a chain of beads adorning the string looped around the mouth of the pouch. A darumaka gripped the straps of his backpack, pulling them a bit away from his round, cherry red body as he hastily walked a bit behind Yeong, his short legs pattering against the thoroughly damaged concrete, hopping over cracks.

The emotional wound had begun to scab over a bit, and Yeong decided to speak. "It's about a one and a half walk to the next town, we'll have to stop and rest when it gets dark."

Lilac stayed silent, laying in his arms with her head on her paws. Yeong honestly hadn't expected a response; she had a much larger emotional wound than he did, it would take longer to heal, and hurt a lot more.


	2. Chapter 2

The duo continued along the path, the concrete paved road turning into dirt, before ceasing to be a proper path at all, but more a more traversed line than the surroundings, the grass and foliage trampled by the hundreds of feet who came before them. Trees lined the path in increasing frequency, casting looming shadows across the gaunt features of the travellers. Before long a canopy sheltered the lonely wanderers, blocking out most of the fading orange sunlight. The distant depths of the surrounding forest were now gloomy, impairing the vision of those traversing the labyrinth of trees.

Lilac shifted in Yeong's arms for the first time since leaving Wonmul, stretching slightly as she yawned, scrunching up her eyes and folding her ears back into the head as she took in air. "I'm sleepy," she said, falling back to a limp position, her eyes drooping.

"We'll find somewhere to rest as soon as possible," said Yeong, keeping his eyes focused ahead of him, squinting to see through the darkness. 

His eyes were drawn to a light that shone from a small clearing. As they neared, it became clear that it was a campfire, surrounded by a ring of rough stones and rocks that acted as a barrier. A group consisting of a sableye, with their spindly limbs grouped together, arms resting upon their sharp knees, and others who Yeong recognised from the trek out of Wonmul: a darumaka with a small, round backpack filled to bursting leaning against his side, and a pangoro and pancham sat around the fire, leaning against trees, with the pair of pandas sat against a fallen tree. The pangoro looked up at the newcomers with sunken eyes and gave a polite smile. "You're welcome to rest here," she said softly.

"Thank you," replied Yeong, shuffling towards the fallen log.

Noticing his reluctance, the pangoro hit the log to her left with a large hand covered in mostly healed blisters and scars, slightly startling her child, who tensed up and glanced from the log to the newcomers. "C'mon, sit down," the pangoro encouraged, her smile going from polite to friendly.

Yeong lowered Lilac to the ground next to him before sitting close to her against the log, relaxing his posture upon seeing Lilac curl up and rest among the thriving grass. He looked up at the pangoro, whose skinny frame betrayed her life of poverty, something that was not uncommon in Wonmul. "Where are you heading to?" he enquired, trying to give a slight smile, which resulted in just the corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly.

The pangoro held her hand up, with her elbow resting on the log. "I'm gonna stay with family, 'til I can buy a house. I'll have to work hard - I tend to do physical labour: carrying heavy stuff, construction, stuff like that...There's plenty of work out there." She explained and relaxed her arm, holding it like she were sitting in a chair. "My name's Haname. What about you?"

Yeong gave a small genuine smile at her animated conversing. "My name's Yeong. I worked for the local paper; I arranged articles, sorted out the layout, and wrote a column - it was just to add as bit of humour to the paper about recent events." 

"I love your column!" said Haname excitedly. Yeong averted his eyes, blood rushing to his cheeks and gave a quiet "thanks". 

He looked down at Lilac, with her face nestled in her mane of cream fur. "I'm taking her to an orphanage, I can't take care of her myself and her mother passed away." His expression turned grim. "I don't know where Lilac's father is, I've never seen him. Lilac and her mother moved in across the street from me quite recently, but the father was nowhere to be seen."

"He probably went to work in the mines," suggested Haname.

"The mines?" enquired Yeong, cogs spinning behind his eyes as he processed the information.

Haname nodded and explained: "The king ordered for strong men to work in the mines, a bit from the town. Normally I'd work, but I had to stay home recently as my husband works." She paused before continuing sincerely. "The workers weren't meant to tell anyone, but my husband didn't want me to worry."

Yeong picked at his lower lip, in thought. "Someone did approach me with a story like that..." He lowered his hand in realisation. "Then came back soon after saying it was a joke." 

The world around him seemed to fade away from focus as he pondered. "Maybe they were threatened, but why would the king want to hide what's going on?"

Haname interrupted, biting down on the sprig in her mouth: " Don't tell me, you think there's a connection between the mines and the sinkhole?"

Yeong returned to picking at his lip. "I'll have to do more research, but it seems like a logical conclusion." 

Haname gave a hearty sigh. " Just don't stick your nose in anything dangerous, okay?"

"Okay." 

Unconvinced, Haname frowned, recognising his tone as being similar to that of her own son, knowing full well that he would go against what she said and do it anyway. The rest of the evening passed in silence, and before long the world turned to black.

Yeong awoke slowly, his head lulling backwards, and his surroundings came into view bit by bit from the blurry abyss. The fire was reduced to ashes that spilt out of the rock circle and the surrounding grass was singed from stray sparks. The sky was a bold crimson, the sun barely above the treeline. A cold silence sat over the forest, as still as the crisp air. 

Cradling, the still sleeping, Lilac, Yeong rose to his feet, only to be startled out of his drowsy state by a voice from his right. 

"Leaving so early?" 

Haname sleepily called out to Yeong, barely opening her eyes. 

Yeong kept looking ahead as he spoke. "I want to get to the next town as soon as possible." 

"Take care."

"Bye, take care." Yeong looked back to Haname, who was softly smiling, as he trudged away from the group.

He kept focused on the path ahead, the sun shining through the leaves in an increasing brightness, dying the world with a bright yellow light. Lilac had awoken at some point in the journey, and was watching the greenery with glazed eyes. A small, rough river came into view, with a rickety rope bridge stretched across it. A bush with large waxy leaves and a variety of sizes of azure oran berries crouched between the river and a tree with roots spilling out of the earth of the river bank. 

"Please can we stop and eat?" asked Lilac, spotting the berries, her large ears twitching. 

Yeong wordlessly placed her next to the bush and picked off a ripe berry, passing it to Lilac. "Here."

Lilac held the berry, looking at it sadly. "Thanks..." She trailed off and took a deep breath before looking up at Yeong. "Mister? I heard what you said last night," tears welled up in her chocolate eyes, her voice choked and mournful. "Why didn't you tell me that Mummy died?"

Yeong stared at the knotted tree behind the bush, unable to bring himself to answer for what felt like an excruciatingly long amount of time, before redirecting his attention to the berry in his hands. "I couldn't bring myself to tell you. It's too upsetting."

Tears rolled down Lilac's cheeks and she spoke in a strangled cry. "Do you think Daddy is okay?"

Fidgeting with the berry, passing it from hand to hand, Yeong gave a quiet response: "I don't know." He looked up at Lilac, faintly smiling. "But we can hope that he's fine."

Lilac smiled back, still crying. "Yeah, I hope he's okay."

Yeong's stomach twisted, he felt sick and empty, staring blankly at the berry in his grasp. "Let's get going," he said, dropping the berry

"Already?" exclaimed Lilac, barely having started eating.

"Yes, you can eat on the way," Yeong said sternly.

Lilac stared at Yeong, dumbfounded. "But don't you need to eat?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll eat later," said Yeong dismissively, cutting off Lilac when she tried to protest. "I'll be fine." He picked Lilac up, supporting her legs and back as she sat in his arms. They left, taking cautious steps across the bridge, trying to avoid looking at the rocky riverbed below. Yeong kept walking by the river as the trees began to dwindle and houses popped up by the path, which went from grass to gravel to pavement. 

"Do you have any family or friends you could live with?" Yeong asked, looking down at Lilac. 

"No, it's just me, Mummy and Daddy," replied Lilac, sitting up a bit.

Yeong's face fell and he only managed to force out an "oh".

A large metal gate neared as they continued down the road, the tarmac marked by tires and countless feet. "We're going to have to go separate ways soon," said Yeong, tears welled up in Lilac's eyes, but refused to flow out. "I'll visit you often, don't worry," he added quickly. A building with grubby cream painted walls and dull windows loomed at the end of the path beyond the gate, the path leading directly to a pair of chestnut doors. A worn shed stood on the edge of the heavily trampled grass on the opposite side of the path to a vegetable plot boxed in with wooden boards. 

Yeong crouched to put Lilac down, then stood back up to his full height to press the doorbell to the side of the gate, which had a chunky wire tacked to the fence that led to the ground. A minute passed before the heavy doors were shoved open and a friendly face exited, closing the door behind herself. The nidoqueen plodded towards the gate, taking in the newcomers with extremely dark purple eyes that showed vast experience in their twinkle and wrinkled lids. She wore a beige cloth over her armoured shoulders, draped in such a way that it covered her upper torso. Stopping just before the gate, she spoke. "How can I help you?"

"Would it be okay if we went inside to talk?" asked Yeong, fidgeting with his hands in front of him. 

The nidoqueen surveyed him for a moment before reaching out to open the gate. "Of course, come on in." The gate opened with a squeal, the hinges complaining from years of use and the corner scraping against the ground, leaving a scratch in the ground, then closed with a clunk when all of the group were on the inside."What was it that you wanted to talk about?" asked the nidoqueen as she walked back towards the house and heaved open the front doors. 

"Well," began Yeong, formulating the sentences in his head. "A sinkhole opened up in Wonmul, many of the houses fell in...Lilac's mother was crushed under the rubble, and her father is, missing."

The nidoqueen took the information in with a calculating look that softened as he spoke. "I see, so you want me to look after her." 

Yeong nodded as he entered the living room. "Yes, please. If you can."

"I'll do my best. Before that I need to talk to you and her about it." The nidoqueen gestured to the cheap tattered sofa opposite an equally damaged and hard armchair. "Let's sit down." Yeong took the sofa, sitting opposite the Nidoqueen, who was crammed into the armchair, Lilac took the sofa cushion to his right and wrapped her tail around her hind legs. "You said that Lilac's mother was crushed by rubble. Am I right in assuming that she's dead?" asked the nidoqueen, probing at the matter with a gentle manner, but blunt delivery.

"Yes," replied Yeong, his voice flat. 

The nidoqueen continued her investigation, this time with more hesitance. "I see...and the father?"

"I'm not sure..." Yeong stared at the wall across from him. "He was probably working in the mines near town, I don't know whether he was in the mines at the time of the sinkhole - but if he was, he probably didn't make it."

Lilac whimpered quietly as tears trickled down her face. "Dad..."

"That's horrible!" exclaimed the nidoqueen, wiping away a tear. "Lilac, I'm so sorry - I'm so pathetic, it didn't even happen to me, but I'm still crying like a baby."

"It's okay to cry," said Lilac softly, tears still streaming down her cheeks, she smiled sadly. "Mummy always said that when you cry, it's a sign of openness and love." She closed her eyes, unable to stem the flow of tears. "I'm crying because I love Mummy and Daddy, and you're crying because of love for others. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

The nidoqueen pushed herself up, out of the chair, and walked across the room, engulfing Lilac in a hug, holding her in her arms while they wept. Lilac rested her head on the Nidoqueen's shoulder, holding onto the cloth over her torso. 

"You must have travelled a long way," the nidoqueen turned her attention to Yeong. "You're welcome to stay here to rest while you're getting back on your feet."

"Thank you," Yeong bowed his head. "Miss...?"

"Krynn" The nidoqueen clarified. "What's your name?"

"Yeong"

"Well Yeong, I'd like to speak to Lilac, please can you wait in the hall?" 

Yeong nodded and stood up. "Of course." He seated himself in one of the padded chairs in the hallway, closing the door behind him, and sat mostly still, aside from lightly tapping his finders against his leg. His ears swivelled round when the sound of pattering feet came from the stairs, and he looked up to see a Kricketot padding down the stairs on little stumpy legs. The Kricketot reached the bottom of the stairs with a little hop and noticed Yeong sitting nearby, their antennae twitching. The Kricketot looked at Yeong with round black eyes. "Hello Mister, do you know where Miss Krynn is?"

Yeong gestured to the door to his left. "She's in that room, what do you want?"

The Kricketot shuffled their feet. "I'm hungry, it's past supper time. What's she doing?"

"She's talking to Lilac," Yeong gave the Kricketot a stern look. "A child who lost her home and parents." The Kricketot looked down at the floor and gave a quiet "oh".

The door creaked open soon after, Krynn leading the way, with Lilac following, her tear-stained face pulled in a small smile. Krynn looked down at the hungry Kricketot and Yeong, still seated in the chair closest to the door. "You must be hungry, let's eat supper." She cupped a hand to the side of her mouth and called out for the others to come down. "DINNER!" Several pairs of feet and a couple of wings could be heard sprinting and flying down from the bedrooms and down into the hallway, joining Krynn, who was now sitting on a threadbare rug in the dining room at the end of the hallway, a bowl of fruit in the middle of the rug. Everyone took a berry and dug in, except Yeong, who seemed to have no appetite, and was nibbling at the berry with little enthusiasm, but somehow finished it. 

He looked down to see Lilac barely able to keep her eyes open, her head bobbing up and down, weighed down with exhaustion. "I'm sleepy," she said, leaning slightly to the side. 

"You two should get some sleep," Krynn ordered. "Even you Yeong."

Lacking the energy to argue and being grateful for the hospitality, Yeong complied. "Okay."

"Follow me," Krynn scooped up Lilac in her arms, cradling her, and walked out the doorway, with Yeong about a metre behind. "The rest of you, stay here until I get back."

The trudge up the stairs was more tiring than Yeong expected, making him thankful for Krynn's slow walking speed. They stood outside a simple room with two beds against the walls, one small and one regular size, with a small cabinet in the middle. "This is the guest room, you'll be sleeping here," instructed Krynn. She dropped Lilac off in the small bed, where she curled up, facing the wall, and tucked her in, covering her with a thin duvet. 

Yeong pulled the curtains shut, and lay down in the bed by the window. Krynn left, and he was alone with his thoughts, gazing blankly across the room with half open eyes. He was finally able to process what had happened over the past couple of days, still in shock after what happened. In all honesty, he was half expecting it to be nightmare, but his aching legs and the sheets that crinkled in his grasp said otherwise. 

The room faded to black and Yeong plunged into a deep sleep.


End file.
